Water: Giving and Taking Away Life

Life in the desert revolves around water. Our every activity depends on this vital liquid, and every daily plan includes a trip to the water source. Out here, water is the difference between life and death.

A short time ago this area received heavy rains. We holed up on the high ground while the earth absorbed as much as it could before sending the excess water to the ravines and arroyos.

Today as we hike we see the destructive power of this excessive amount of water. Roads are eroded and sometimes washed out. Banks have given way and once standing trees now lie twisted and dead in the washes. Places where people have camped show the signs of flowing and pooling water. It seems the very thing we rely on to survive had turned her fury toward us and was bent on our destruction.

We reflect on our own lives and the importance of finding and maintaining a balanced existence. Almost everything in life that is vital to our existence or healthy for us in mind and body can be destructive when we indulge to excess. It seems we absorb these good things but when we over indulge, the excess wreaks havoc on our mind and body like the flash floods we see in our desert.